Public Bikes Box: Marquee Arrow Sign

At the beginning of the year I decided to take the plunge and purchase a bike. That whole process requires another post, but 6 months later, I am still very much happy with my decision!

Public is based out of San Francisco, so I had to have the bike shipped to me. So, not only did I get a beautiful bike, but a giant box as well. I'm all about reusing material, and the box/website even promotes recycling the box for something new - so awesome!

There are several good tutorials out there (here and here) for creating marquee signs out of paper mache letters and other materials. I ended up just figuring it out as I went along since I had certain restrictions due to the original box.

I decided on a giant arrow. I had to work around the handle cut outs on the box, and a few areas that got beat up in the shipping process. After cutting out the arrow shape, I used buttons to lay out where the lightbulbs would be. I decided on two strands (25 bulbs per strand) which fit perfectly on the arrow. I traced around the buttons, and than used those marks to drill holes (you could probably make cuts with your x-acto, but I really wanted to use power tools!).

I used the sides of the box for the sides of the arrow, and used lots and lots of hot glue to attach them. It's overall pretty lightweight, so I think it should hold up ok.

The finished light! I might eventually spray paint it, but I like the fact that it's imperfect and I even like the cardboard feel. Once we figure out the perfect place for it we'll hang it onto the wall, but for now it adds a little personality to our movie room and the perfect addition for a Movie Foodie night!

International Quilt Study Center & Museum

Last month I went to the International Quilt Study Center & Museum in Lincoln, Nebraska to celebrate my mom's birthday. We had talked about going for some time now, and finally planned the trip! She brought along two of her good friends, and we turned it into a little weekend trip.

They had a display of miniature and toy sewing machines - I desperately want that blue one at the top!

The quilt below was made by a seamstress in Lincoln. She made it between 1909 and 1914, and is made of 10,222 pieces! And those pieces are tiny too! I can see why it took her 5 years to complete:)

A guy pieced and quilted this one above! He was an engineer, and used his math skills to perfect quilting.

They have a collection of over 4,000 quilts, but they only show a couple dozen at a time, and rotate the quilts in themed exhibits. I loved that it was just three curated little exhibits. Most museums have so much art to look at, it can be overwhelming, and I tend to get bored - but this had just the right amount. You could go once a year and see different quilts, and hear different stories every time.

One lesson I learned after visiting - label your quilts with your name and year! I have only done this once, but will try to be more diligent about it in the future. You can check out their website to see their current and future exhibits, and also see images of their quilt collection.

Movie Foodie: Edward Scissorhands

Edward Scissorhands has been one of my favorite movies. It was also one of my favorites to host as Movie Foodie night - and the one I spent the most time crafting for. I couldn't resist making mini sherbet houses and my very own patchwork scottie dog! The scottie dog pattern is from Denyse Schmidt, and you can find it here.

Food items were: Scissorhand kabobs (grilled peppers, potatoes and zucchini), Ambrosia salad, heart shaped sugar cookies, and lemonade. The food is always served first, which allows the guests to discover the scene for each food item as we watch the movie.

I'm including the templates for the sherbet houses, and Edward's paper chain. You can use the the houses as place cards for your food items, or to create a colorful little suburban village:) Click here for the templates!

Quilted Pillows

Last winter I made several pillows for friends. Turns out quilting/sewing in small sizes is a lot more fun and a lot less time consuming! This was also my first time trying improvisational piecing - and I loved it! I can spend so much time planning a quilt out, and doubting my decisions, but with improv you just have to go with the flow. I also incorporated lettering into the quilting, because I love putting quotes on things. My favorite: "Just think lovely, wonderful thoughts" - thanks J.M. Barrie (Peter Pan).

Movie Foodie!

My desire to have a Movie Foodie night all stemmed from the fabulous movie, Benny & Joon. I watched this movie with my friends in college more often that I'd like to admit. One of the best scenes, by far, is where Johnny Depp's character, Sam, is ironing grilled cheese sandwiches with an iron (why so many sandwiches, I will never know...) Since the first time I saw this movie, I have wanted to try it out, but for some reason never have. It seemed like the perfect food adventure to try with friends - so maybe a girl's night? My right brain started to take over, and than I had a whole evening planned full of other movie related food items. Movie Foodie night became the perfect excuse to plan a themed, social event (my desire to behave like a hermit only intensifies as I age, and planning specific events helps prevent total hibernation).

I decided on three movies that I enjoy and could easily relate to food. I didn't have to try hard to come up with "menus" for each night. The three movies* and their featured food item: Benny & Joon (ironed cheese sandwiches, of course), Mermaids (marshmallow kabobs) and Edward Scissorhands (ambrosia salad). There are about 3-4 other appetizers per movie, and a few decorative details that relate to the film.

And last night, was the first Movie Foodie night! I'll share more photos soon of the actual evening...

*If you are interested in these movies, and subscribe to NetFlix, all are currently streaming on their website.

Happy Valentine's Day!

We had a Valentine swap at work today, so I made these little guys to share with everyone! I can't take any credit for the format, as they are based off these awesome Japanese monster cubes. I made a few changes to the template, making it bigger, and used my minimal illustration skills to make a cupid. There's even space for some candy inside his mouth. With the whole set of them, they kind of look like cupid robots!

Coming out of hibernation...

Life has been crazy, as life usually is, and now I am finally back to blogging! We'll see how long it lasts...

I have lots of things I want and hope to share! Because that is really what I love about the internet - sharing ideas and learning from other people - like FREE tutorials! They really are amazing.

See you all soon!